He was in old-time iron armor from head to heel, with a helmet on his head the shape of a nail-keg with slits in it; and he had a shield, and a sword, and a prodigious spear; and his horse had armor on, too, and a steel horn projecting from his forehead, and gorgeous red and green silk trappings that hung down all around him like a bedquilt, nearly to the ground.
"Fair sir, will ye just ?" said this fellow.
"Will I which ?" "Will ye try a passage of arms for land or lady or for--" "What are you giving me ?" I said.

"Get along back to your circus, or I'll report you." Now what does this man do but fall back a couple of hundred yards and then come rushing at me as hard as he could tear, with his nail-keg bent down nearly to his horse's neck and his long spear pointed straight ahead.

I saw he meant business, so I was up the tree when he arrived.
He allowed that I was his property, the captive of his spear.
There was argument on his side--and the bulk of the advantage -- so I judged it best to humor him.

We fixed up an agreement whereby I was to go with him and he was not to hurt me.

I came down, and we started away, I walking by the side of his horse.
We marched comfortably along, through glades and over brooks which I could not remember to have seen before--which puzzled me and made me wonder--and yet we did not come to any circus or sign of a circus.